Ebola Death Toll Reaches 5,372 in DR Congo as Fatality Rate Tops 50%

The Ebola death toll in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached 5,372, with the case fatality rate now above 50%, according to figures from the country’s National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) released on Sunday. The institute counted 10,414 confirmed cases as of Oct. 30, Africanews reported, making this the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak ever recorded.

Part of the latest jump reflects a retrospective data adjustment by the response team in Ituri province, the report said. Even so, the direction is clear: the outbreak, declared on May 15 and caused by the Bundibugyo species of the virus, is killing people faster than any previous Congolese epidemic.

Ebola death toll: the trend in numbers

On Oct. 20, the World Health Organization counted 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths, a fatality rate of 48.3%, across 66 health zones in eight provinces, according to WHO’s Oct. 23 outbreak update. Ten days later, the INRB totals were 710 cases and 685 deaths higher.

By a Boston Report calculation, that is about 71 new confirmed cases and 69 newly recorded deaths a day over the 10 days, although the death figure is inflated by the Ituri data correction. The fatality rate rising from 48.3% to 51.6% puts the outbreak at the high end of past Bundibugyo epidemics, which killed about 30% of patients in 2007 and about 50% in 2012, according to WHO.

Ituri remains the epicenter, with 7,040 cases and 3,271 deaths as of Oct. 20, WHO said. North Kivu had 2,146 cases and 1,199 deaths, the highest provincial fatality rate at 55.9%. Both are conflict zones, which makes tracing contacts and reaching patients harder. WHO said only 79.7% of contacts were being followed, well short of the 95% target. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has said, according to Africanews, that about 80% of new cases are coming from people who were not on any monitored contact list, a sign the virus is moving through chains responders cannot see.

Spread beyond Congo and the vaccine gap

Kenya has confirmed nine cases, and Nigeria confirmed an imported case in Abuja in October; the BBC reported two more suspected cases there under testing. Uganda declared its outbreak over after no new cases since August. There is still no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain. A vaccine trial called TUMAINI began on Oct. 23 in Bunia, Ituri’s capital, according to UN News.

The current outbreak has already killed more than twice as many people as DR Congo’s 2018-20 epidemic, which recorded 2,299 deaths. Only the 2014-16 West Africa outbreak, with more than 11,325 deaths, was worse. Responders have also faced violence: a nurse was killed in Bafwasende, Tshopo province, on Oct. 24 after rumors spread that health workers were contaminating water, according to Radio Okapi. Our earlier Ebola case count and country list tracks where the virus has spread.

The money question

At a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting on Sept. 30, donors announced more than $470 million in new money, taking global pledges past $2 billion since May, according to the G20 chair’s statement issued by the U.S. State Department. The United States put its direct assistance at $887 million. The Trump administration holds the G20 presidency this year.

Source: G20 Chair’s Statement, Sept. 30, 2026. Table: The Boston Report

Former Irish President Mary Robinson said on Monday that Europe does not “care enough” and urged G20 countries to release the full €3 billion pledged, Euronews reported, noting the outbreak had taken 5,000 lives in less than six months. Watch for WHO’s next outbreak update, whether contact follow-up rises toward the 95% goal and whether the TUMAINI trial produces early safety results.

Sources

• Africanews: Ebola fatality rate in DR Congo tops 50% as death toll reaches 5,372
• World Health Organization: Disease Outbreak News DON622
• BBC: More than 5,000 die from Ebola in DR Congo’s deadliest outbreak
• UN News: Ebola outbreak update
• G20 Chair’s Statement: Ebola Ministerial, Sept. 30, 2026
• Radio Okapi: Un infirmier tué à Bafwasende sur fond de rumeurs liées à Ebola
• Euronews: Robinson says Europe doesn’t ‘care enough’ about Congo’s Ebola outbreak